Schwalbe Rocket Ron CX Tyres

You know cyclocross season is finally upon us when you see the aggressive tread of a tyre like that of the Schwalbe Rocket Ron. It just looks primed for mud-plugging…

Schwalbe Rocket Ron cyclocross tyre

Although a 33C tyre it looks very narrow once fitted. The 127-Evo-carcass is lightweight at 305g, which compares favourably with its tubular stablemate of 375g. The ‘Evo’ bit is Schwalbes designation to tyres that combine low weight, high speed and ‘optimum puncture protection’ (read relatively little). As such it is designed to be an out and out race tyre for those that want to use a clincher set-up.

Evolution equals performance

The tread pattern is supposedly suited to both hard, dry days as well as wet, muddy races. The tapered knobs are designed to shed mud quickly and bite in deep for traction in soft terrain.

Schwalbe Rocket Ron has aggressive, directional tread

Schwalbe use their ‘PaceStar Triple Compound’ to make the Rocket Ron, which is one of Schwalbe’s top of the line ‘Triple Star Compounds’, and is designed to offer fast cross country performance by way of lower rolling resistance and greater durability. The middle of the tread is made from a particularly strong rubber compound, whilst softer compounds on the shoulders ensure good cornering grip. They claim that this produces a tyre that is fast and grips well but is also long-wearing.

Tyre pressure of a minimum of 50psi…

The recommended tyre pressures are interesting: 50 to 85 psi. I can’t imagine anyone running them in that range unless it was a particularly hot, dry, hard packed summer’s day, and then you’d probably want a less aggressively knobbled tyre… So far we have set them at 30psi and on our brief runs out so far they seem fine, though we are admittedly yet to take a big hit!

To be on the safe side we have put tubes in laced with tyre sealant which adds a bit of weight but gives peace of mind against pinch punctures. We’ll see just how low we can go before get into trouble…